Jan 29, 2015

This week’s lap of Centennial Park was run in 17:11, a 31 second improvement on last week. I was completely comfortable throughout.

I mentioned yesterday how I was concentrating on getting faster in my runs at the moment, rather than longer. I gave some reasons, but forgot the most important one – the Achilles. The tendon has adapted nicely to long slow runs. Speed, however, is the last frontier. And it was speed which caused the injury. I’m very pleased, therefore, that the increase in speed hasn’t resulted in any problems at all.

Kevin has now passed from Alabama to Florida, his last US state. He should finish his North American leg in a couple of weeks, then flying to Chile to begin his South American leg, running much of that continent on the same roads as me.

On This Day

As promised, just a short day up to Taupo. For the most part the run was uneventful, until I reached Taupo itself. Firstly, there is a big speed boat racing competition on the lake today, with helicopters filming and all. The sound of the speed boats roaring back and forward around the buoys was/is very loud, but it’s drowned out somewhat by the gale force winds. These winds have chopped up the lake surface significantly, and the boats have been forced to go much slower than they otherwise would be.

Then, just before I arrived at my stopping point (the motel we’re staying at tonight), I saw a girl up ahead holding up a sign. I assumed it was for someone else, probably in a car. However, as I got nearer, I could see my name on the sign. It read “Kia ora Tom” – a traditional Maori greeting! I stopped to talk to Karleen (apologies if this is not how your name is spelt). It turns out she has been following my progress and could see on the tracker that I was approaching along that particular road. Thank you again Karleen for a lovely welcome to Taupo.

Once again, the worth of the website tracker has been demonstrated. As I mentioned in an earlier blog, it allows anyone to follow me in real time, and to come out and meet me on the road. But it also ensures the integrity of the run, as any authority can do the same in order to verify my whereabouts without me having any forewarning – exactly what is needed to maintain the highest possible standard of run validation.

It’s Sunday afternoon now in Taupo, and I think I might just go and have a natural geothermal spa. Believe it or not, we have one in our room, with the water and the heat supplied directly from inside the earth. What a luxury for a weary world runner!

Today had many similarities with yesterday. The distance was almost identical, as was the vertical ascent, and the afternoon sun was just as salubrious. I really like running in sunshine that is casting long shadows across the road. And when there are no cars around, there’s a serene silence in the air, other than the occasional bleating of sheep.

The one issue is, the late part of the day is the bit that hurts the most. After nearly 50 km, it’s hard to run with a zip in your legs. Each step hurts, at least a little. But, I guess that’s moderated by the lovely ambience of the winter sun on the countryside.

During this morning I received a call from a Lisbon journalist, Sarah, who interviewed me on the road for nearly an hour. I believe the article will appear in a Portuguese magazine. Carmel sent along some photos as well.

The countryside is now one of sheep, olive groves, and cork trees. The cork trees are harvested from the bottom up, with the bark being cut off and shaped into mainly wine bottle corks, I guess. The tops of the trees look normal, but the bottom part of the trunks look like they’ve been shorn.

I’m now nearly a week back on the road, and I’m holding up pretty well. I have to confess to being sore in the legs, but that will subside after another few days. Managing soreness is a mental thing – much more difficult is managing an injury, which is a physical thing.